Preface

Small things lead to big things. In August 2006, I decided to write a short getting-started tutorial on Zend Framework (for version 0.1.4!). Many people read it and fixed my errors for me, which was nice. In October 2006, Ben Ramsey contacted me via IRC and asked if I were interested in writing a book about Zend Framework. Apparently Chris Shiflett had recommended me, as he’d read my tutorial and other musings on Zend Framework-related topics and thought I could write. Simple mistake, really!

Ben put me in touch with Mike Stephens of Manning, and I agreed to outline a book about Zend Framework. He introduced me to Marjan Bace who worked with me through the process of getting the outline together. Marjan’s kind words and encouragement helped tremendously. By the time we knew what the book would be about, I believed I could write it, and I started in January 2007.

By May, we all realized that I’m not the fastest writer in the world, and if we wanted a book out this decade, we needed some help! Nick Lo and, later, Steven Brown kindly answered the call for help, and their enthusiasm has ensured that the book was completed. Nick also proved much more capable at graphics than I, and the diagrams are a pleasure to look at as a result!